Lesson 2: Priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang Parish have pushed many believers into breaking the law
Looking back at the history of Con Cuong district as well as reviewing the process of some priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang parish illegally proselytizing in Yen Khe, we can see that the people's concerns are well-founded.
Con Cuong mountainous district has 7 ethnic groups living together, with over 67 thousand people. Of which, the Thai ethnic group is the largest, accounting for 67.6%, the Kinh ethnic group accounts for 23.9%, the rest are Dan Lai, Nung, Hoa, E De and Kho Mu ethnic groups. For generations, the ethnic groups have lived and worked together in harmony with their own customs and beliefs...
During the process of Catholicism entering Vietnam, in Nghe An it only developed to the area of Anh Son district. From the border of Con Cuong district up, the highland districts had no religion. After the complete liberation of the South and especially the renovation period from 1986 to the present, some people mainly from other provinces and districts came to Con Cuong to do business, live and make a living, among them a few were Catholics.
Currently, the number of Catholics in the district is only 81 households with 204 people (accounting for about 0.03% of the district's population), living in 11/14 communes and towns of Con Cuong district. The vast majority of Catholics live in harmony with the people of other indigenous ethnic groups. Originally a district without Catholicism, in fact, in 14 communes and Con Cuong town, there are no churches or Catholic villages, so when coming here, a part of the Catholics have almost lost their faith, only going to church when they return to their hometown...
History has proven that Con Cuong district has never had a religious church, no religious dignitaries, no original religion, most of the people of Con Cuong are ethnic minorities living according to their original customs and practices. Always consistent in the policy of "respecting the freedom of belief and non-belief" of the people, the Party Committee and the government of Con Cuong district have always paid great attention to the work of national solidarity, regardless of religion or belief, all join hands and unite to build the homeland to develop more and more...
Recently, a few parishioners in the district have applied for land to build a church, but according to the Land Law, it is not allowed. In addition, in the reality, there is a very small number of parishioners in the area, scattered in many communes of the district with a large area, so the People's Committee of Con Cuong district explained and received the approval of the people. These parishioners have gone to Tuong Son commune (Anh Son) to practice religion at Quan Lang parish church or worship right at their own homes. The parishioners believe that this is both suitable for their beliefs and convenient for communication with the lowlands, so they feel secure in practicing religion, contributing to the general socio-economic development.
Many parishioners from Anh Son and Thanh Chuong districts... came to Mr. Pham The Tran's house to perform illegal rituals (photo taken at 2:00 p.m. on June 10, 2012).
However, the local religious situation suddenly became unstable since priest Pham Ngoc Quang, former parish priest of Quan Lang, went to preach 7 times at the house of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh in Block 6, Con Cuong Town; preached at the house of Mr. Pham The Tran in Trung Huong village, Yen Khe commune with the participation of nearly 300 people from Anh Son, Tuong Duong, Thanh Chuong, Yen Thanh districts and Ha Tinh province. Although the Con Cuong district government reminded that holding a ceremony in a place other than a church and without the government's permission is a violation of the law, since the end of 2011 until now, every Sunday afternoon, preaching at Mr. Pham The Tran's private house still takes place.
This violation is systematic, intentionally provocative and increasing in frequency and severity: On November 13, 2011, about 300 parishioners from other places came to participate in religious activities and used pepper spray and threw rocks at local people when they came to protest against illegal proselytizing here. The peak was on July 1, when 700 believers from other places came to hold ceremonies, causing disorder, arresting and assaulting people in Yen Khe commune...
As for the priests of Quan Lang parish and the dignitaries, they increasingly show their defiance of the law, lack of cooperation with the government, and disregard for public opinion, such as: On January 15, 2012, when the working group of Yen Khe commune came to inspect and make a record of the illegal ceremony organized by priest Pham Ngoc Quang - Quan Lang parish priest at Mr. Pham The Tran's house, this priest had a challenging attitude: "Next week I will bring all the parishioners of Quan Lang parish here to celebrate the ceremony; I dare the commune chairman and the district chairman to forbid it. What can you do to me"!
Previously, on September 23, 2011, when the Quan Lang Parish charity medical examination and treatment team led by priest Pham Ngoc Quang requested the government to allow medical examinations in Yen Khe commune, but the authorities refused due to insufficient procedures according to the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, the priest still declared: "If the government does not allow us, we will still do it"... Similarly, priest Ngo Van Hau - Quan Lang Parish Priest also showed an uncooperative attitude: On May 31, 2012, at a meeting with the People's Committee of Con Cuong district, priest Ngo Van Hau stated: "If the district government does not agree, I will still come here to hold mass every Sunday."
On June 3, 2012, Mr. Tran Duc Phuc - Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Con Cuong district went to Mr. Pham The Tran's house to invite priest Ngo Van Hau to Yen Khe commune headquarters to work, but this priest refused and told the parishioners present "The mass will still be held next Sunday as usual". Why did the priests of Quan Lang Parish attract many followers from localities with many parishioners and authorities at all levels to build spacious and decent worship facilities to Yen Khe (Con Cuong) - where there are only 4 households with 18 parishioners living, and there is no worship facility to hold ceremonies? This paradox shows that the priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang Parish have intentionally violated the law in a systematic manner.
The illegal preaching activities and blatant violations of State regulations on religious activities by priests and dignitaries in Quan Lang Parish and followers like Mr. Tran in Yen Khe have caused many parishioners in Con Cuong district to disagree. The evidence is that the number of parishioners participating in illegal religious activities at Mr. Tran's house in the past time was only about 20 people, accounting for about 10% of the parishioners in Con Cuong...
Mr. Tran Van Khai, 48 years old, a parishioner living in Bong Khe commune (right next to Yen Khe commune) commented: “Preaching religion without permission from the government is wrong; and if it is wrong and against the law, I will not follow it, so I will not participate in the ceremony at Mr. Pham The Tran's house. Every important holiday, I return to the church in Tuong Son commune, Anh Son district... No one prohibits freedom of belief, but we must also comply with the law and local regulations”; Parishioner Tran Van Tho, 82 years old, in Lien Tan village, Bong Khe commune, also had a similar opinion: “Because I did not participate in the ceremony at Mr. Tran’s house from the beginning, I did not know about the incident on July 1. However, preaching religion without following the law and the State’s policies like this has been a big mistake for a long time. It is already wrong and then causing trouble like this is even more wrong. My children all go to the church in Dua to attend the ceremony – that is more orthodox”… The opinions of parishioners like Mr. Giap and Mr. Tho have proven that the arguments that have been constantly being spread on the websites of hostile and opposing forces are completely fabricated to find ways to slander and defame the government in religious matters.
Catholics in Con Cuong district have expressed such an attitude. Meanwhile, ethnic minorities, especially those in Yen Khe commune, Con Cuong town and neighboring areas, strongly objected. They said that the above-mentioned missionary activities are contrary to the traditional customs and traditions of the Thai people as well as other ethnic groups in this mountainous district; contrary to the village's covenant, causing insecurity and disorder in the area. And above all, it is against the law on religion. Ethnic minorities in Trung Huong village have submitted a petition with the signatures of more than 170 people requesting the government to strictly handle the above violations, restore order so that people can work and live in peace...
One day after the incident, some priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang parish, along with a group of extremist parishioners, caused chaos, assaulted and illegally detained people. Security and order in the area were restored and peace returned. When meeting with the people of Yen Khe commune, everyone expressed optimism and confidence, but many also expressed anxiety and worry that the chaotic, horrifying and evil scenes would continue to happen openly. They all did not want hundreds of people from somewhere to come and cause trouble in their locality every Sunday.
Mr. Dang Van Truong, over 70 years old, residing in Trung Thanh village, Yen Khe commune, confided: “This illegal proselytizing has been going on for quite a while. They built a chapel and organized proselytizing without consulting anyone. After finishing the chapel, where did they bring people from to perform the ceremony? No one here goes. We here are very upset and annoyed, like everyone else, I oppose this action. My daughter-in-law is also Catholic, but I encouraged her to go to the church in Anh Son to perform the ceremony. Here, people are performing illegal ceremonies, so why come? She heard it and did not go anymore. Yesterday, hundreds of Catholics from somewhere came to surround the village, and also assaulted, detained, and seriously injured dozens of people. This is truly a disregard for the law and discipline. The reaction is there, not anywhere else. It needs to be stopped, dealt with severely and appropriately right away”…
Nay Thi Say, a resident of Trung Huong village, expressed her concern: “Since they gathered many people here, we don’t like it, because the customs of the villagers are completely different from theirs. In addition, they brought many complicated things here. Sometimes they hold ceremonies at night, making noise, and the villagers want to rest and be quiet after work. The villagers were angry and gathered together to protest. Last time I went, I was stoned, yesterday I was beaten with a stick, and now I have bruises. I live in a disciplined society, living in my homeland, but being beaten by people from other places, I don’t consider myself worthy.
Mr. Nguyen Trong Ly, who lives next to Mr. Pham The Tran, shared: “We see that they look down on the people and the government here. They thought that just because they gave them a few kilos of rice and some pills yesterday, they would follow them. Today, they beat them and injured them until they bled and became crippled.”
Other villagers such as Lo Thi Huong, Lo Van Khue, and Tang Thi Tao, all from Trung Huong village, whom we met, all expressed their concerns: For a long time, seeing many strangers coming, the villagers feel scared and worried because of the chaos and loss of security and order. Yesterday was truly terrifying, every house in the village had someone injured. Even those who hid in their houses were still hit by rocks. The villagers are very indignant. We want to preserve the lifestyle of the Thai ethnic people who have been here for a long time...
Mr. Phay Van Bay, the head of Trung Huong village, was already very tired because for many months he had to stay at Mr. Pham The Tran's house every week to control the anger of the people; yesterday he was the target of being hunted down, chased, beaten and stoned by parishioners. With bruises all over his body and difficulty moving, Mr. Bay indignantly said: "The priests of Quan Lang parish brought hundreds of people from other places to assault and brutally beat the people, causing instability in the village, commune and district. This is an act of deliberately destroying security and order. I am afraid that with yesterday's incident, in the future, if the Quan Lang parish priest and followers continue to come to Mr. Tran's house to perform illegal ceremonies, the people of Yen Khe commune will certainly react much more violently. The authorities need to handle this quickly to ensure a peaceful life for the people."
It can be seen that the current illegal proselytizing and rituals in Con Cuong district do not come from the actual needs of local parishioners, but are unilateral and imposed activities of the priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang Parish; coupled with the uncooperative attitude towards the government, disregard for the law, and lack of respect for the local people of the priests of Quan Lang Parish and some believers such as Mr. Pham The Tran, it is clear that the illegal proselytizing in Con Cuong is for no other purpose than to disrupt discipline and the law, as well as to disregard public opinion, causing negative effects in society...
The wrongdoings of the priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang Parish not only caused economic damage to the parishioners from Anh Son, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong... when they followed the priest's advice and left nearby places to attend services in far away places, but also failed to ensure the safety of property and lives of religious followers when they gathered to participate in traffic with a large density of hundreds of people on dangerous mountain roads.
--> It is necessary to quickly clarify and handle the person who brutally assaulted Ms. Vi Thi Hoa.
In fact, the fight between the people of Yen Khe commune and the followers of the priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang parish left serious consequences. Not only 58 people of Yen Khe commune but also parishioners from other places were injured by the followers and had to be hospitalized. It was the priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang parish, not anyone else, who pushed their followers into sin with serious violations of the law such as: participating in illegal religious activities, disturbing public order and security, assaulting and illegally detaining people.
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